


Let It Happen To You

by Ilsa13



Category: The Brave (TV 2017)
Genre: Dialogue driven plot, F/M, Feelings, Writing for Fun, conversations between friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-30
Updated: 2018-11-30
Packaged: 2019-09-02 20:53:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16794550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ilsa13/pseuds/Ilsa13
Summary: Jaz thought she had a tight grasp over the reigns of her emotions and feelings, but each of her team members let her know in their own way that is not the case.





	Let It Happen To You

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: this is a work of fanfiction using characters from The Brave. I do not claim any ownership over them or its universe. 
> 
> Note: This fic is set after episode 11, _Grounded_ , and before the two-episode season finale, _Close to Home: Parts I & II_. This fic also assumes there have been a few other missions in between those episodes.

_Amir – March, one Saturday morning at the Air Base in Incirlik, Turkey.  
_  
It was before her usual wake up time when Jaz rose from the bed and headed to the kitchen yawning and with her hair in disarray, wearing pajamas pants and a black tank top. Amir was already there, which was no surprise for any of the team members by now after the months they had been working together; he was an early riser. He greeted her with a quiet ‘Good morning’ while he made himself a coffee on the counter. “Want one?” he asked, showing her his own mug. Jaz nodded with a sleepy face as she sat down on one of the chairs, slouching herself on it.  
  
Amir peeked over his shoulder at her, noticing the weariness on her features. Despite having been cleared by Captain Martin, she hadn’t been sleeping well since the kidnap by the Quds, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.  
  
“Another nightmare?” he asked busy with the coffee pot.  
  
“No, just _brain_ _noise_ ,” she answered, and that was enough for the Arabic man to understand, who turned to look at her once to later proceed with what he was doing in silence. Too many thoughts boiling in her head, and he couldn’t blame her, the last few weeks hadn’t exactly been a bed of roses for her.  
  
“Can I ask you an intrusive question?” he queried when he finally turned around to hand her the coffee.  
  
“Intrusive?” she repeated raising one brow. “It's too early for that, Amir, but try,” said Jaz taking the mug with both hands and adding a small ‘Thank you’ at the end. She expected something related to what occurred in Tehran, to the time where she was away from them, captured by the enemy. She hadn't been very open about it with the team, only feeding them small bits and pieces here and there to assure her guys that she was okay but at the same time letting them know she wasn’t ready to talk about it openly yet, or ever.  
  
Still standing, Amir rested his hips against the counter crossing one foot over the ankle.  
  
“What's going on between you and Top?” he asked in a nonchalant way before bringing the cup to his lips, as if he was simply talking about the weather and not of something that, reading between the lines, could have serious implications and repercussions for all of them if it ever came to happen.  
  
“What?” The question sobered Jaz enough to almost spurt the sip of coffee she had just taken. “I’m not having this conversation with you,” she said more aggressively than expected.  
  
The Muslim man smiled. Interesting. She hadn't denied that there was _something_ between their CO and her, only deflected the question as a defensive measure. She obviously was still asleep or he wouldn’t have caught her in such a tricky question. It was still worth a try. He had come to care for her, even if at the beginning she had given him the cold shoulder, and seeing where she was headed with Top, he wanted to offer her his own advice. He wanted to transmit _‘Hey, I’m here if you want to talk about it’_ , and in order to achieve it he knew he had to open himself first.  
  
“Would you have it with Elijah?” He saw her avert her eyes, uncomfortable. In was an intentional question that exposed he wasn’t worth of her trust as far as she was concerned regarding this matter. Amir didn’t take offense by her silence. Instead, he stood upright and started walking towards the exit with the cup still in his hands.  
  
“C’mon, let’s go outside.” Amir gave her a slight squeeze on the shoulder when he passed behind her.  
  
Jaz turned her head and followed him with her eyes, trying to discern what had prompted the question about her and Adam. She followed him outside, taking a jacket first for the cold, the first traces of sunrise on the horizon. Amir was already sitting on one of the benches, drinking his coffee peacefully. Jaz sat next to him and remained quiet for a couple of minutes, enjoying the few morning sounds and the beauty of the view far away. She reflected on his relationship with Amir, bumpy and even hostile in the beginning, calmer and neutral now that they had spent some months together and she knew more about him. She had misjudged him, hurt and angry by the loss of Elijah, blinded to the adversities Amir had had to overcome in his past.  
  
“It's not about you being Elijah or not,” she voiced breaking the quiet atmosphere, “it's just that there's nothing to talk about.”  
  
As a trained field CIA intelligence officer, Amir had learned to read people keenly well, his survival depending on it. Now, as part of the Omega team, those skills also served him to know his co-workers more in depth, perceiving small details others would dismiss as trivial. In the case of Jaz, she thought she was hiding everything she was feeling for their captain behind a wall of camaraderie and indifference, but as of late the way she interacted with and looked at Top was giving her away. The ironical thing about it, for how intelligent and professional Jaz was, was that she wasn’t aware that she was doing it. Hot-headed in a different manner than McG was, the sniper was slowly but surely crossing a line that could bring changes for the team in the future. Dalton wasn’t helping, that was for sure. The chemistry between them was genuine at all levels, which became more evident every day that passed. Amir didn’t judge though. He better than most knew the difficult position both Jaz and Top were in.  
  
“When I was undercover in ISIS I fell in love with the wife of one of the leaders that run the cells in Algeria,” he started without looking at his teammate, assured that he had gotten her attention and that she was listening. “We dallied around each other for quite a long time, until we couldn't stand it anymore.”  
  
Jaz looked at him with a perplexed expression, unable to believe he was telling her something so personal. Deep down, it warmed her heart, to know he thought she was worth of his trust. This was probably a side of Amir no one in the team knew about, perhaps with the exception of Top, who had done a thorough research before vetting him to operate with them.  
  
“Didn't that put the whole operation at risk?”  
  
“Yes, and we were aware of that,” said Amir resting his forearms on his knees, his gaze lost somewhere in the past, “but what we felt was stronger than everything else.”  
  
When a minute went by without him resuming the story, Jaz intervened.  
  
“What happened to her?”  
  
“She was murdered by her own husband. He became suspicious that she was selling him, which was actually true, and in an act of rage he hit her so strongly in the head that she died on the spot.”  
  
This was too tragic to start the day, thought Jazz as the mug heated her chilled hands. Hearing him talk of the woman’s death reminded her of Elijah, of how he fell into her arms, blood flooding everywhere. She shook her head, wanting to vanish the image engraved by fire in her memory.  
  
She didn't really know what to say, so she went with what was expected.  
  
“I’m very sorry.”  
  
Amir nodded in acknowledgement and cleared his throat before talking once again.  
  
“The days I spent with her were the best of my life. I’ve never felt more alive.”  
  
It was obvious to Jaz that it was hard for him to talk about this person that he had held so dear. She wasn’t naive. Amir didn’t do anything without a reason, it went with his background, so there was a motive behind him telling her about this important and painful episode of his life. _Top_ , which connected with the initial question he had thrown at her, about what was going on between them. Jaz hadn’t really spent any time analyzing her feelings for Adam, or for any other of _her_ guys really, including Amir. Why would she? There hadn't been any real reason to do so. But now that Amir had asked she wondered if she had done or said something that led him to believe there was _more_. She had a strong connection with Top, true, of which she fed off and which gave her a sense of belonging. But beyond that? Nothing, nothing that she could see out of the ordinary, so she played dumb.  
  
“I don’t understand why you’re telling me.”  
  
“Yes, you do,” said Amir not falling for her words, taking another sip of his coffee. “At some point you will have to make a choice,” he continued, “and I only hope that you make the right one.” With luck, his experience would give her something to think about before taking any actions, whenever they might take place.  
  
The Lebanon man stood and offered his hand to help her up, his demeanor relaxing.  
  
“Want some breakfast?” he asked in a more pleasant tone.  
  
“Hell yeah” answered Jaz taking it and smiling, thankful they were back on more neutral ground again.  
  
***  
  
_McG – Two weeks later, in the early afternoon of a Wednesday in Mindanao island, Republic of the Philippines.  
_  
They were hiding crouched down in the middle of the jungle dressed in camo gear, being soaked up by the unstopping rain, waiting to be picked up by the rest of the team. Surrounded by green leaves, swinging vines and wild treetops, their boots were full of mud and thin rivers of water fell over the sides of their fishing like hats.  
  
“What are you going to do on leave?” asked Jaz looking around while holding her machine gun, checking that everything was in order. The sound of the rain made difficult picking up other noises and so she stayed alert. Relaxing before the mission was completely over, that is, before they were safely extracted, often resulted in more unwanted complications.  
  
“Blow off some steam,” answered McG mimicking her movements, “if you know what I mean.”  
  
Jaz snorted and looked at him with a ‘why am I not impressed’ face. “Didn’t expect anything less from you.”  
  
“You should try it too, you know, for your own well-being,” he said half joking, half serious. It hadn't gone unnoticed to him the way she and Top had been behaving around the other, specially after they rescued her. Fleeting glances that spoke volumes, conversations that, if well observed, had a flirting tone to it. It was becoming harder and harder to pretend there was nothing more than a friendship or professional relationship between her and their superior. So yes, McG was pretty sure Jaz needed a good laid, if only to burn the sexual tension that had been building over the past few weeks.  
  
“I will,” replied Jaz, convinced that there wouldn’t be a problem in achieving that objective. She wasn’t oblivious to the effect her looks could cause; her beauty had been of use in previous missions. It would be nice, she decided, to go out there and meet someone to have fun with one night while she was on leave. Or many nights, she thought with half a smile on her mouth.  
  
McG misinterpreted the gesture when he looked out of the corner of his eye at her.  
  
“Someone specific in mind?” he asked knowingly, expecting Jaz to state what everybody in the team already knew.  
  
The sniper bit her tongue hard when an indecent image of Top appeared in her head. Ever since Amir had _that conversation_ with her two weeks prior, she hadn't been able to stop thinking about their Captain in a very unhealthy way.  
  
“You mean like Paloma Sokolov?” she replied turning the tables.  
  
The name of that old lover caught the man from Montana unprepared, his mouth empty of words for some rainy seconds until he was able to recover from the surprise. Then he smiled, not taking it bad.  
  
“Okay, Jazzy, you were quick with that one,” he acknowledged, liking how she had dodged his question. However, he was not going to let go of the subject that easily. “I might invite her over, you know,” he continued as he brushed some water from his face with his free hand. “I’ve kept in touch with her.”  
  
“That’s a first,” she said, meaning Paloma meant much more to him than other women he had met in the past. Very few got to the opportunity to meet Joseph’s mother personally and discover firsthand the incredible ranch.  
  
“Yeah, some people touch the _right strings_.” And he wasn’t talking just about himself; Jaz could take the hint. He didn't mind admitting it to her, she was like the sister he never had. “Now that you mention Paloma, do you remember what Preach told me during the mission in Seville?”  
  
“Remind me,” replied Jaz, still looking out into the jungle, trying to discern a shape out of place. She remembered well enough what he was referring to, she was there with Preach and McG in the car when that conversation took place. She also remembered the insinuating look Ezekiel threw at her afterwards.  
  
“That I didn't have to apologize for making a connection with someone, and neither should you.”  
  
Jaz remained in silence for a bit, uncertain of what to say. They were both beating around the bush and it wasn't getting any of them anywhere.  
  
“Is it really that obvious?” she asked somewhat deflated. Her new discovered feelings for Top were already bothering her enough, but so was the fact that the boys were approaching her about it. She trusted McG, and not only with her life. He may be a joker most of the time, but in the moments of truth she knew she could count on him.  
  
McG didn't make any fuss or looked at her astounded when she indirectly admitted it. He took it in stride, his gaze anchored in the green foliage, proud of her for being brave enough to confide in him with something so personal.  
  
“Sorry to break it you, but yes, it is.”  
  
Jaz chew that answer over for several seconds, thinking in which ways she was giving herself away. Was it in the way she talked to Top? In the way she interacted with him? Probably both, she assumed, if two of her teammates had already noticed and told her so bluntly. The worst part of it was that she hadn't been aware she had been acting differently around Adam.  
  
“Does it bother you?” Jaz looked at him this time, wanting to appreciate his facial reaction. She didn't want the boys feeling uncomfortable around her just because she happened to have developed an infatuation that would surely disappear over time.  
  
“Of course not, although I'm interested in seeing what's going to happen.” McG met her eyes then and wiggled his brows mischievously.  
  
“Nothing, as far as I'm concerned,” she resolved with finality, returning her attention to their surroundings. It was one thing to fantasize in romantic terms with Top in her mind, which she was sure other women that knew him did, and another completely different to act on her feelings. It wasn't even something she had considered becoming a reality. _  
_  
“Why not?”  
  
“Seriously, man?” she said turning to him offended by the question. “You had it easy with Paloma, she wasn't ranked ahead of you, for starters.”  
  
“Okay, I get it, protocol, rules and such,” he said unaffected by her almost murdering look, “but let's forget that for a moment, hmm?” McG changed his crouched position, resting one knee on the ground and turning his upper body more towards her, the butt of his machine gun bumping into her side once. “This team won't last forever, as incredible as it is. Hell, one of us may not even make it into the next mission. You better than no one knows that.” Of the five of them she had been the one kidnapped and sentenced to death once it was discovered she was an American operative. Not only that, she had seen her best friend die in her own arms after the explosion that killed him.  
  
“So? What's the point you want to get at?” Jaz wasn’t one for patience when it came to her love life. She could be hours laying on the ground looking into the sight of her weapon, controlling what lay ahead in the distance, but became restless when her emotions started to take control of her thoughts and time. It was probably why she hadn't really had serious relationships in the past. It destabilize her and she needed stability to perform her job in optimal conditions.  
  
“That the reasons that could hold you back lose their weight when faced with the kind of work we do.”  
  
“That’s deep, coming from you,” she jested, although she perfectly understood the real message beneath his words: _don’t wait until it’s too late_.  
  
“I know. I’ve been talking a lot to Preach lately.” They looked at each other and smiled lightly when Ezekiel was mentioned. “What do you think Elijah would do if he were in your position?” asked McG, knowing how close the sniper and the old member of the team had been.  
  
Jaz directed at him the first genuine smile combined with a snort she had showed since they left home base in Turkey.  
  
“Act like the crazy ass that he was,” she replied, relaxing some. “He would have jumped right at it, not taking shit from anything or anyone.”  
  
“That’s right,” seconded McG nodding. They both laughed quietly as they remembered their dear friend, who had carried out the most insane decisions, both professional and personally.  
  
After a moment, Jaz talked again:  
  
“But I'm not Elijah and we're probably forgetting an important part of the equation here...”  
  
She didn’t mention him, but her teammate figured it out without her needing to.  
  
“Top?” said McG. Releasing the machine gun for a second, he made a gesture with one hand, downplaying it. “You don't have to worry about that.”  
  
“What do you mean?” Her interest picked.  
  
“He’s head over heels for you,” declared McG without an ounce of doubt.  
  
“How can you be so sure?” There was scepticism in her tone, which matched her outside demeanor. It was a mixture of indifference combined with disbelief, as if what they were talking about wasn’t something that could wrung her deep internally. Jaz didn’t think she was Adam’s type at all.  
  
“Because I saw Top’s reaction when you were taken in Tehran.”  
  
Jaz rolled her eyes and changed her posture as well to take some pressure off of her legs, imitating the medic and laying one knee on the muddy ground. “He would have reacted that way for any of us.”  
  
“Oh, I know he would have cared very much if it had been any of us three,” he said referring to Amir, Preach and himself, “we’re all important to him the same way he’s important to us. But with you it was different,” McG paused for a second and then continued. “Trust me on this, Jaz. I’ve known Top longer than you have, and as difficult and life threatening situations as we’ve encountered over the past years, I’ve never seen him lose control the way he did when you were snatched from us.”  
  
Jaz remained quiet, absorbing McG’s words, not daring to believe them yet, although her heart was about to burst inside her chest just by the mere chance of Adam returning the feelings she had for him. What would she do then? This changed everything, didn’t it?  
  
“He barely slept or ate and he snapped at us for minimal things,” added her teammate as if to convince her more. “So don’t discard your possibility to be together that quick,” he added at the end.  
  
The sound of a vehicle approaching was heard by both of them, so they went quiet, becoming invisible under the rain in the nature that surrounded then. Jaz was thankful for the interruption because she had a lot to think about after what his friend had told her. It wasn’t until McG recognized Amir and Top in the back of the jeep that he spoke again:  
  
“There they are, finally. C’mon, let’s get out of here.” He stood up and helped her to do the same.  
  
As they neared the car and before any of the others could hear her, the sniper spoke:  
  
“Thank you, Joseph.” Jax nodded her head when he met her eyes, thankful for his advice, trust and encouragement.  
  
“Anytime, Jazzy. I'm here for you.” McG elbowed her lightly. Then he looked ahead at the rest of the team waiting for them. “We all are.”  
  
***  
  
_Preach – Middle of April, Friday, almost midnight in Santiago, Chile.  
_  
He was the first to notice, shortly after coming back from the mission in Ukraine, on a beautiful day at the base in Incirlik while Dalton was tending the barbeque and Jaz approached to start a conversation with him. Preach was sitting at one of the benches, a few meters away, observing. He didn’t need to hear what they talked about, the body language and the glances between them were enough. From there, whatever there was between Top and Jaz, a small flame, a spark, had only been escalating into something bigger and more difficult to hide. Even Amir and McG had become aware of it and mentioned it to him.  
  
The safe house they were spending the night at was in the outskirts of the capital, Santiago. It was rudimentary and consisted of one floor with two bedrooms and a sizeable back yard where they had had a late dinner a few hours before, when the temperature was still nice. The only one who had been missing had been Top, who had left to meet an old friend of his he hadn't seen in years in the city center.  
  
A couple of hours of after dinner conversation followed in the living room, until the medic and the Lebanese called it a night and went into the room they shared to sleep. Top and Preach had the other one while Jaz had taken the couch. They all had offered her one of the beds, but she had refused, stating the couch was perfectly fine. Not only it made things easier, but she was the smallest of them in size and the one to be more comfortable on it.  
  
Dalton arrived not that much after, surprised to see both of them still awake, as they all had to rise early. He said good night soon after and disappeared into his bedroom, leaving Preach and Jaz sitting alone on the sofa.  
  
“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked when he threw her a weird look.  
  
“Because…” Preach saw the longing glance the sniper directed to Dalton's retreating form.  
  
“Tell me.” Jaz picked up a cushion and put it on her lap, half hugging it, as if it was an armor.  
  
Preach sighted. Like McG weeks ago, he decided to go straight to the point.  
  
“Adam.” Not Top, not Dalton. _Adam_.  
  
There was an impasse between them, as if mentioning that name out loud was taboo and it entailed a curse, until Jaz relaxed and snorted.  
  
“Oh no, you too?” she grabbed the cushion and buried her face in it in a funny gesture. This time she didn’t lose time denying it. What was the point of concealing it when her teammates already knew what was happening? Better than her at times, which scared her. She wondered if Top had noticed it too. If he had, he hadn't made any move to show it. And besides, enough time had passed for her to accept she was feeling more than a mere crush for her superior.  
  
“Me too what?” asked Preach frowning.  
  
“I see what’s coming,” she said quietly just in case the rest of the men in the house could hear through the walls, looking at him. “Why are each of you giving me the talk? Have you guys also talked to Top?” The last question, voiced with a little bit of nervousness, was to gain information.  
  
Preach smiled, one of his arms stretched on the top part of the couch. He liked that Jaz was open about it and didn't act as if nothing was really happening. He hadn't known Amir and McG had talked to her about this subject, but he was glad to hear it was the case. It reflected the incredible group chemistry there was on the team.  
  
“I guess it’s because we care about you,” he answered also in a low tone, following her lead. “As for Top, no, I haven't talked to him about you.” He didn't need to. A couple of glances between them had already confirmed that Dalton knew Preach was aware of his attraction to Jaz. That's how strong their understanding of each other was after working together for more than a decade. As for the boys, he didn't think they would approach Top to talk about his love life. Perhaps Amir, since he had joined the team quite recently and was still developing his relationship with Dalton, but he doubted it.  
  
“For any specific reason?” she asked out of curiosity.  
  
“No. It’s simply that you haven't come out as a conversation topic… _yet_ ,” replied Preach with an air of mystery. “What did the guys tell you? If you feel it can be shared.”  
  
“Both of them pretty much sold me the same message.” She turned her body on the couch more towards him, the cushion still on her lap, one bended leg going up to rest on the seat. “Amir's bottom line was to dive into it no matter the consequences, or that’s what I think he was trying to tell me.” She avoided getting into the story of how the CIA agent had lost the love of his life. It was precious to her that Amir had confided that to her and she wanted to hold onto it and honor the trust that was evolving between them. “McG repeated what you told him in Seville, of how unique it was to make a connection with someone, and that I should hurry before it’s too late.”  
  
“I see,” said the Afro-American man, not verbalizing his opinion over whether the advice she had been given by his friends was good or not.  
  
“What about you? What do you think about this?” she asked him when he remained silent. Jaz was interested in what he had to say because he always offered a different point of view, full of wisdom and philosophy.  
  
Preach looked at her straight in the eye and then answered:  
  
“A rope can only stretch so much until it breaks.”  
  
Jaz grasped what he meant, but she asked anyway.  
  
“Meaning?”  
  
“The way I see it, this chemistry, special connection,” _sexual tension_ , Preach wanted to say, “between you and Top won’t go away any time soon, it will only expand and get bigger and bigger, until it explodes.” _Like the bubble of air trapped in the sea that won’t rest until it reaches the surface_ , he thought.  
  
“So it goes both ways? I mean, Top also…” _wants me?_ she finished in her mind. At times she felt like he did, but at others she thought she was imagining it because she wanted it to be true.  
  
Preach didn’t want to confirm it to her in an absolute way.  
  
“You tell me. You have eyes and you're smart. What do you see? What do you feel?”  
  
Jaz hoped she wasn't blushing. She felt a universe of feelings when she was close to Top, specially when he looked straight at her with an intensity that made her melt inside. There was an electrifying current between them that accentuated when they touched. It was thrilling and exasperating at the same time. As of lately, she had been feeling very self conscious around him and had tried to distance herself to not aggravate the situation. She wasn't sure if the rest had noticed, but it was the only way she felt she could stay sane without making a mistake, like acting on her impulses or saying something inappropriate.  
  
“All right, I see where you're going,” she said avoiding his gaze for several seconds. Okay, so it looked like Top felt something for her as well. McG had already told her so and Preach, despite not confirming it, was suggesting it. “What then?”  
  
“That's not my call to make, but…” Preach stopped for a second, thinking how to phrase his next words. “The moment you get involved with Top the whole group dynamic changes. You know that, right?”  
  
Jaz dropped her gaze, scared and thankful in equal parts for his honesty. At least Preach was realistic and knew that if something happened, there would be consequences, and probably not very good ones for the team and for Top.  
  
“Yes, I do, which is why I wasn't planning on doing anything.” It was the same answer she had given McG, not doing anything just to stay out of trouble.  
  
“But that doesn’t solve anything.” Preach adopted a contemplative stance. “Let’s imagine for a moment, hypothetically, that we knew for certain Adam is the man of your life, that no matter how many men you meet throughout your life, he’s the one who will truly make you happy,” he said. “Would you really let that train pass?”  
  
“In first place, why should I be the one to make the first move?” said Jaz with resignation at what was implied. “And second, that's not the right question, and you know it. The question is what is the price of taking that train.”  
  
“It's not like you have to do anything, we're talking about an hypothetical case. But again, doing nothing doesn't help the situation.”  
  
“Wasn't you the one who said when we were in Ukraine that doing nothing sometimes was _doing something_?” she said with mockery.  
  
Preach laughed quietly. “Yes, I was, but I don't think we can apply it here, and I'll tell you why. This situation won’t be sustainable in the long term, I mean, you're already acting differently around him.” Damn, so Preach had noticed, thought the sniper embracing the cushion tighter between her arms, feeling a little bit of embarrassment. “Do you really believe Adam won't notice? I don't even want to imagine what this could look like in eight or ten months down the road.”  
  
“Me neither…” she whispered, thinking how insufferable it would be to maintain appearances for so long, battling with her feelings in order to do her job while at the same time not being able to make them disappear. That would be an easy solution, but as she had learned quite young, life was everything but easy.  
  
They remained silent for a bit, until Preach took the floor again.  
  
“So what is the cost for you of taking this train named ‘Adam’?”  
  
“The team, and this team means everything to me right now.” _More than you can imagine,_ she finished in her mind. Maybe it sounded like an exaggeration, but she didn't have that many people waiting for her back home. Amir, McG, Preach and Top felt more like family than her real family did.  
  
The Afro-American man smiled with affection. It was nice to hear in her own words how much they meant to her. It was mutual.  
  
“I guess what is clear is that you can’t have both at the same time and that is the predicament you’re in.”  
  
“Exactly. And that being the case, I don’t know what else can be done,” said Jaz as if she were in an endless labyrinth with no way out. “I don’t want to screw things up.”  
  
Preach thought for several seconds, mulling over the different options  
  
“Why don't you talk to him?” he ended up offering.  
  
“You can’t be serious?” Jaz showed an astounded face, as if that was the most preposterous and scandalous suggestion she had heard in a long time.  
  
“Why not? People understand each other talking and it would be a way to release the tension that has been accumulating during the past few weeks.”  
  
“You really expect me to go up to him and say ‘Hey Top, this is how I feel about you. What should we do about it?’” she said with disbelief.  
  
“Yes,” he answered with conviction. “If I were in your position is what I would probably do.” Those words seemed to relent Jaz a little. “Besides, what’s the worst thing that could happen?”  
  
“That he transfers me to another team,” voiced the sniper. It was one of her fears, Top finding out how she felt about him and deciding they couldn't work together anymore. A close second was him dying without telling him how she really felt.  
  
“I think he would only do that as a last resort option, like if he felt the team was at risk, which is not the case. You're both very professional, so I don't see a point in worrying about it.”  
  
“Easier said than done,” she breathed more to herself than for Preach to hear it.  
  
“I don't know, think about it,” said Preach standing up from the couch. “It's not like you're in a hurry, but you shouldn't wait too long either, specially if your feelings get stronger.” He reached for the sheets that Jaz would use to sleep, opening the larger one to put it on the sofa. “We should rest if we want to resemble human beings instead of zombies tomorrow.”  
  
“You all think you know me,” mumbled Jaz getting on her feet as well to help him.  
  
_Oh, but we really do, Jaz,_ thought Ezekiel with tenderness. They spent more time with her than her friends back in the U.S. or the part of her family she still kept in contact with.  
  
They set the sheets and blankets in companionable silence, until Preach passed her the pillow and tried to make her smile:  
  
“Do you know there's an ongoing bet on who will make the first move?”  
  
“Geeez, you guys are so bored that need to make bets on my love life?” It was a rhetorical question. Surprisingly, she wasn't upset by the news, just amused. Had it been the other way around and Amir or McG were in her position, because Preach was already married, she would have participated without a doubt in the bet.  
  
“And Top’s,” he added with a grin.  
  
“Who's winning?”  
  
“McG and I think you will be the one to take the first step.” It was the most logical, given Jaz’s feisty personality, her being younger and the fact that she was ranked below Top. From what he knew of Adam, which was enough, Preach didn't see him putting himself in such a compromised situation when he had the most to lose. “Amir thinks Adam will.” Both McG and him thought the Lebanon man was doomed and would lose the bet.  
  
“Interesting. And the prize?” The temporary bed had already been made and Jaz stood facing Preach, who was also on his feet near the opposite arm of the couch.  
  
“A good lunch or dinner to be selected by the winner or winners, and the first turn in the shower anywhere for a month.”  
  
The last part made the sniper smile. She couldn't count the times where hot water had run out after the first few showers when they were deployed for a mission.  
  
“What determines a first move?” she asked seating on the sofa again, moving the top sheet aside.  
  
“We've established a kiss… a real kiss for now,” replied the CPO of the team with a conspiratorial smile. “But please let us know if it's something else,” he teased her.  
  
Jaz rolled her eyes as she laid down on the couch. “Good night, Preach,” she said dismissing him, having heard enough about the bet.  
  
“Night, Jaz.” Preach turned with a grin on his face and started toward his bedroom. “Oh, by the way,” he stopped and looked back at her. “You sure you don't want my bed tonight?” he asked taunting her, but it was in a healthy way, Jaz knew that. Preach wasn’t a mean-spirited man; neither of them were. “That way you can be closer, maybe start a conversation with him…” He was sharing the room with Top, each with their own bed.  
  
“Get lost, Preach,” said the woman turning herself to the other side on the sofa and extending her hand to turn off the lamp that was on the side table.  
  
“Another day then,” the Afro-American man said as he kept walking and disappeared inside his room.  
  
The living room became dark and silent except for the night sounds of the house. Jaz wondered, as she listened to them in the back of her head, what was she supposed to do with Top after her conversation with Preach.  
  
***  
  
_Dalton – May, noon of a Monday in Kantara, Turkey._  
  
It wasn’t the first time they had all returned to that beach after the explosion of the suicide bomber organized by Fahim Jarif months ago. Least to say, it hadn’t been easy, but as Top had mentioned more than once, they had to move on from the horrible experiences and situations they encountered in their everyday lives.  
  
Amir, wearing a loosely linen buttoned shirt and shorts, was reading a book sitting on a folding chair under a parasol with his sunglasses on. Preach and McG had just gone to buy a few more drinks for the whole group at a nearby bar and Jaz was sitting on a towel listening to music from a mp3, her gaze focused on the figure seated far ahead near the shore. She wondered if now would be a good moment to approach him and talk about what had been nagging her for weeks. Leaving the mp3 with the earphones on the towel, she stood up and glanced backwards once. Amir was still immersed in his novel and there were no signs of Preach and McG coming back yet.  
  
Her patience had been running out ever since her conversation with Preach, where the seed of talking with Top had taken roots and grown day by day. The month that had gone by had been an agony as she felt more and more self-conscious in the presence of Adam, which led her to act in ways that disoriented her team members. Jaz had seen the inquisitive stares Amir had given her, the encouraging looks from McG and the expectant glances Preach had directed at her, as if he was waiting for her to take action. In a couple of times she had also catched Top looking at her strangely. She knew she needed to let out of her system what was burning inside her, but it wasn’t an easy decision to make, uncertain of what the outcome would be.  
  
As she walked barefoot on the sand, her hands hidden in her shorts pockets, she admired the blue sea under the cloudy sky, trying to control the beating of her heart. If Elijah could see her right now, he would probably be laughing out loud for her insecurity. As brave as the rest of them when it came to accomplishing a mission, Jaz felt her determination wavering the closer she got to Top. She kept walking though, until she reached the point of no return.  
  
“Mind if I join you?” she asked to his left.  
  
Top looked up at her, having already sensed that someone was coming up behind him. He hadn’t expected the person to be _her_ though, so a current of warmth flashed through his body when he recognized her voice.   
  
“Of course not.”  
  
Jaz sat next to him, not too close, not too far, bending her legs so she could rest her arms on top of her knees. She took off her sunglasses, holding them in her hands. She wasn’t going to hide behind them as she had done up until now. The clarity of the light made her blink a few times before anchoring her gaze again on the small waves crushing on the shore.  
  
They remained in silent companionship for a while, Dalton noticing each and every one of her movements out of the corner of his eye. The fact of her taking the sunglasses off alone told him something serious was coming, and as the minutes went by he knew, in the imperceptible way in which he had come to decipher each of his team members, that she was restless. He was about to ask what was it, but she overtook him.  
  
“I'm struggling, Adam,” said Jaz still looking straight ahead, worried about his reaction and of if she was doing the right thing. What if McG and Preach were wrong? What if he rejected her or adopted an indifferent stance?  
  
The use of his first name instead of Top only reinforced for Dalton the idea that the subject matter about to be discussed was sensitive to her.  
  
“With what?” he asked in a calm tone of voice. He had several guesses of what it could be given how jumpy she had been during the last few weeks, but he waited patiently for her to enlighten him.  
  
Jaz went quiet for a long time, her gaze avoiding his. He looked at her at one point, admiring the neatly made brade falling on her back.  
  
“You know you can talk to me, Jaz,” he said encouraging with the itching desire to touch her, to transmit to her that she could count on him, always.  
  
“Yeah, I know.” The sniper inhaled deeply and in a serious and wary tone of voice she said: “I’m struggling with the way I feel about you.” There, it was finally in the open.  
  
Top looked at her profile and laughed after hearing her words, feeling a diversity of emotions dance inside of him. Wonder, relief, gratitude, admiration, affection, nervousness. He couldn’t imagine how much it had took her to make a declaration like that to him. It only proved once more how courageous and incredible she was. A lot of things now _clicked_ for him after her revelation, making him understand why she had been behaving differently as of lately. He wanted to match her bravery and be as honest as she had been.  
  
“Well, then that makes two of us,” he answered when their eyes met, a smile still gracing his lips.  
  
Jaz’s eyes widened as her heart was about to jump out of her throat, despite trying to keep a calm demeanor. She had expected rejection, but not mockery. It wasn’t until her gaze connected with his blue iris and his frank smile that she finally comprehended that Amir, McG and Preach had been right all along. She took a deep breath as her cheeks blossomed.  
  
“I don’t know if I should feel lucky or not,” voiced Jaz as she moved her head to look at the sea again, her heart agitated like an upset horse.  
  
Top laughed again. “Thanks for the part that concerns me,” he said with sarcasm.  
  
Jaz made a face and looked at him again, her eyes narrowing due to the light.  
  
“I’m serious. This only complicates things,” complained the woman. It seemed strange to her that Top took the matter at hand so carefree whereas she only felt worry.  
  
“In which way?” As far as he knew, nothing had happened… _yet_.  
  
“You know what I mean.” She avoided his gaze and fixed her eyes on the sand in front of her, shining golden under the sun rays that sneaked between the cotton like clouds.  
  
“I actually do,” replied Top sobering up a little. He knew what was a stake, but it didn’t intimidate him, not as much as it intimidated her. “What do you want to do about it?” It was important for him to know what she wanted, regardless of their circumstances.  
  
_You mean besides ravishing you?_ , thought Jaz with irony.  
  
“I don't know, I was coming to you for answers”, she answered instead, and before he could mouth a word, she continued talking very fast, as if it gave her the courage to say out loud what she needed him to hear. “I’m fucking scared, Top. I feel like I’m obsessing over you more and more and that sooner or later it will affect the team, and I don’t want to jeopardize any of you in any way, never. But I can’t pretend-”  
  
“Jaz stop.”  
  
“... that I’m not becoming distracted, and if I’m distracted, then I’m a risk for the team-”  
  
“Jasmine, stop,” said Dalton louder, reaching for her forearm.  
  
The sniper became quiet as soon as he touched her, her eyes, as well as the rest of her body, focusing on his hand on her skin. The contact burn her in a very desirable way that she shouldn’t want, but that she yearned for. She breathed in slowly several times, a technique drilled in her after the training to become a sniper. It helped her when she knew she was tense or nervous. _I’ve just made a fool of myself_ , she thought with despair, not wanting to appear weak in front of him. She wasn’t weak, not by a long shot. She just wasn’t accustomed to this type of situation, of pouring her heart out to the person she felt attracted to. Having a one-night-stand with a stranger in a foreign city was far more easy than this.  
  
It was unusual for Adam to see Jaz rambling, but he understood her agitation, specially where the team was concerned. Everything she had expressed was how he felt as well. She was on his mind all the time-since rescuing her from the Quds more than ever-, but unlike her, he compartmentalized his feelings and emotions so they didn’t intrude in his day-to-day work. He couldn’t allow himself any lapse of concentration because their lives depended on it. The mission in Iran had served him as a lesson. He knew he had lost control there and that it could have cost them greatly. He would not repeat the same mistake, least of all now that they had come forward with how they felt for each other.  
  
“Listen to me,” he said to get her attention, searching for her eyes, his hand still on her forearm. When she didn’t respond to him in any visible way, he insisted. “Look at me, Jaz.”  
  
“I’m listening,” she confirmed, locking eyes with him.  
  
Dalton knew that dark stubborn look, but this time it was covered by a thin veil of insecurity and apprehension, as if she expected him to reprimand her. She couldn’t be more wrong.  
  
“Good, because nothing’s going to happen between us, not now or tomorrow or in a week. I think it’s for the best,” he explained. His tone of voice wasn’t harsh, but it was firm. “We’ll have this conversation again while we’re on leave, if you want.”  
  
Dalton withdrew his hand slowly and saw how she tentatively reached with her open palm for his fingers, then stopping abruptly altogether, as if she had thought better of it after his words. It pained him to see her hesitate. Hesitation wasn’t something he associated with her persona. He didn’t want to appear inflexible, just cautious. He reached for her hand with assurance, feeling relieved when she accepted it without qualms, only awe in her eyes.  
  
“Understood, Top,” she said nodding. Leave was barely a month away, she could wait. It calmed her enormously to see that he could hold the reigns of the situation, like he always did when they were away on missions. She squeezed his hand once in acknowledgment and he copied her gesture in return.  
  
“Having said that, let me rephrase what I previously asked you.” He moved closer to her on the sand, their hips only inches away, their held hands resting on his left thigh. It created a more intimate setting that encouraged his next question. “Were our circumstances different, is _this_ something you would want to explore further?” Dalton didn’t need to elaborate on what ‘this’ meant.  
  
Jaz looked intensely at him for an instant, baring a small flame of the passion she had to restrain daily.  
  
“I would have pounced on you long ago if you weren’t my superior and we weren’t in the same team. Does that answer you question?”  
  
Adam grinned, downcasting his eyes due to the not so subtle imagery. He was too old to blush. That was the bold Jaz he knew. “Yes, yes it does,” he answered caressing with his thumb the back of her hand.  
  
A few seconds passed by in silence, in which she returned her gaze to the infinite horizon, the sound of the waves and the wind surrounding them. Dalton admired the profile of her face and noticed her expression become more serious, as if a sad memory had crossed her mind.  
  
“It’s not compatible, to have both things,” spoke Jaz looking at the ocean aware of his gaze on her. “Us and the team.”  
  
It was the dilemma they were going to have to face sooner or later and Dalton was conscious of that.  
  
“True. But it’s not something we should worry about right now. We’ll figure it out, I promise,” was Adam’s encouraging response.  
  
“Alright,” she said, her large eyes meeting his blue gaze with a combination of trust and longing.  
  
“We’re not the first ones to be in this position. It’s inconvenient, but natural. We’re humans, after all,” said Dalton, his eyes fixed on their joined hands. “I know of a couple of cases that made it work out at the end. We just have to be responsible about it.”  
  
The sniper observed him looking at their laced hands, listening to her own pulse in her ears. She wanted to kiss him so badly, to hug him, to devour his body until there was no part of it she hadn't claimed as hers. To hear him say that they could find a way to be together gave her strength and courage to wait and do things the right way.  
  
“Thank you, for listening to me and for knowing how to handle _this_ ,” she said with sincerity. She felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of her shoulders.  
  
The blond man looked up to her with a mixture of affection and fascination. “No, thank you for being brave enough to come forward and tell me.” He lifted their joined hands towards his mouth and placed a kiss on the back of hers. Jaz felt a rain of sensations spread like rivers through her veins from where his lips had touched her to the rest of her body like an expansive wave. “Do you remember, in Damascus, when you said I’m the only CO you’ve had that doesn’t see a woman first when he looks at you?” he continued.  
  
“Yes, and it’s still true up until today,” she replied stating a truth, and loving him more for it. She also remembered what he told her that night: _“I may not see it, but... I don't forget it. Because I know that getting here was harder for you than I'll ever understand.”  
_  
“Well, you don’t know how difficult it’s been for me lately to ignore that you are,” he confessed, letting her see for the first time in his storm blue eyes how hungry he was of her.  
  
So he had been struggling as well, in his own way, reasoned Jaz, her heart pounding like a hammer hitting a nail into a wall. Inadvertently, she lowered her eyes to his mouth, enthralled as she was by his gaze, to later look up at him again, wanting _more_.  
  
Adam felt himself blaze inside like a piece of firewood in the hearth by that invitation, but he was present enough in the moment to know he couldn’t have it.  
  
“Jaz…” he whispered, trying to convey with that simple precious word all that he couldn’t say or do. It was a warning but also an apology, a call to order and a call to desire and temptation. He squeezed her hand tightly hoping that she would understand.  
  
“I know,” she said looking away, her skin tingling just by the way he had pronounced her name. She disentangled their hands only to join them again by intertwining their fingers this time. She wasn’t ready to severe the physical contact yet, not when it was already so scarce, but she was to lighten the mood.  
  
“Are you aware that there's a bet about us?” she asked him, also crossing her legs and resting their hands now on her thigh.  
  
“A bet?” replied Dalton bewildered, thankful she had changed topics. “How do you know?”  
  
“Preach told me.”  
  
Jaz explained to him with amusement how Amir, McG and Preach himself were betting on who of the two of them would take the first step into a romantic relationship with a _real_ kiss, how the odds at the moment were two against one and the prize for whoever won.  
  
“Really?” said Top sarcastic at the end, ignoring on purpose that barely a couple of minutes ago there had been a high risk of that _kiss_ taking place. Even Ezekiel was in on it, to his surprise. He looked over his shoulder with craftiness to the rear part of the beach. In effect, the other three men of the team were observing them like falcons, Amir still sitting on the chair with the open book resting on his lap while McG and Preach remained on foot with their arms crossed.  
  
“They all know what’s going on,” confirmed Jaz, not bothered at all by that statement.  
  
“How?” asked Dalton when he noticed the certainty with which she talked about them _knowing_. Had Jaz talked to the guys about him?  
  
“For starters, they’re not blind, and second, each of them has talked to me about the matter in order to help,” she clarified, hoping he wouldn't get the wrong impression. Jaz didn't see any point in hiding from Top that she had spoken to them, not when they had been so frank with the other since she had sat down on the sand next to him. “I think they simply want to see us together,” she added as an afterthought, which at the bottom, is what she so fervently desired. She didn’t think really, she _knew_.  
  
“So do I,” he admitted, “but I think they should mind their own businesses.” It hurt a little to find out this had been going on behind his back, when he was the kind of person that, not only was reserved about his personal life, but liked to have everything under control.  
  
The sniper perceived the rigidness expanding over his face and in his body language when he caressed his jaw with his free hand lost in thought.  
  
“It’s not malicious,” said Jaz referring to the bet, surprised that she was defending her teammates in the eyes of the boss. “At the end of the day, we’re like a family and it's normal for these things to happen,” she added, meaning the gossip and such. “Preach was the one who suggested that I talked to you before doing something I could regret. So in a way he's helped us reach this point. They all have.”  
  
“Not like. _We are_ a family,” he corrected her, an assured glint in his eyes. The tension evaporated from him like a flock of birds taking flight.  
  
Jaz beamed at him before saying “I don't mind,” to settle the issue of the wager.  
  
“I don't either,” seconded Dalton a few seconds later, eclipsed by her beautiful smile.  
  
“Prove it,” she challenged him when the tone of his words didn't convinced her enough.  
  
Adam was the one to smirk this time as he looked at her. “Alright, Sergeant.” In a fluid motion, he untangled his left hand from hers and laid it on the sand behind them. The right one rose until it held the left side of her neck and jaw, as a lover would do. “Easier for me. I can end this right here, right now,” he whispered staring straight into her widened honey brown eyes.  
  
There was no mistaking as to what he meant when his face drew close to hers, enough for her to feel his breath on her skin.  
  
“Top?” voiced Jaz alarmed when she witnessed the confidence of his gaze and the familiarity with which he touched her, her hands securing on his forearm quickly to relent him. She believed him capable of kissing her at last despite having been warned not to pursue it a few minutes earlier. Top was a risk taker who was accustomed to making tough calls in decisive moments, always choosing the most dangerous jobs to avoid them to the rest of the team. The mission in Mongolia or the one in Colombia, where he didn't allow her to go arguing she wasn't in optimal conditions to work after the kidnap, were good examples of that. He was the one who went to get the piece of drone fuselage near the border with China and he was the one who deactivated the plane’s bomb in Bogota. No matter the situation, he most seemed to be in his element when he was on the knife’s edge, something that she admired profoundly but that also scared her at the same time.  
  
Dalton wanted to tell her to call him Adam, not Top. He wasn’t acting as Top in that specific moment. Still, it wasn’t worth to correct her when they had ahead of them several weeks until leave. He felt under his fingers the ricocheting of her pulse and the tension of her muscles under his touch. It humbled him, to see the effect he could have on her. The chemistry was real, more real than he had expected at first.  
  
“Relax and close your eyes,” he murmured as he swam in the depths of her iris, his thumb stroking her cheek.  
  
“Don’t do anything reckless,” she breathed with all her body tingling just by the expectation of being finally kissed, her lids going down. She wanted it, but she knew it wasn't the right time. Still, she would leave it in his hands. “You’re only giving them ammunition to pick on us.” Jaz could imagine it, Amir, McG and Preach looking at them from far away, talking quietly between laughs, hoping to see the so long awaited kiss that would determine the winner of the bet.  
  
“How little you trust me,” he said before raising his head and resting his lips on her forehead more like a father figure than a lover.  
  
Jaz felt the warmth of that contact like a balm that attenuated her nerves from head to toe. The kiss was soft, commensurate and too short, but treasured and heartfelt. When she opened her eyes again, exhaling the air she had involuntarily contained in her lungs, she saw his cheeky grin and his confident gaze.  
  
“You scared me there for a moment,” she admitted smiling in return as his hand caressed her face one last time before he retrieved it to his lap.  
  
“I know.” Dalton purposefully turned his head towards the rear part of the beach catching the three other men of the team unaware. He snorted when they quickly tried to pretend they weren't looking at Jaz and himself, Amir by picking up the book and acting as if he was reading and McG and Preach by engaging in a very gesticulated conversation.  
  
Top stood up and extended his hand to her to help her up. “C’mon, let’s see if they have brought the drinks.” Not only was he thirsty but it was time to normalize the situation for the team as much as possible.  
  
Jaz shook the sand off her body and then followed him. As they walked side by side, Adam took advantage that there still was some distance between them and their teammates.  
  
“Jaz, if during this month that is left until leave you feel overwhelmed or the need to talk, just come to me,” he said, leaving his door open. “I prefer that to there being awkwardness between us or you being distracted.”  
  
“Noted, although I’ll be fine. It helps to know we’re sharing the burden,” she answered in good humor, winking at him when he glanced at her.  
  
Top smiled and felt more calmer after hearing her, confident that their feelings wouldn’t interfere in their line of work.  
  
“Are you ready for their _lovebirds_ jokes?” she asked him as they approached the other three members of the team. She could see it happening, McG making fun of them while Amir and Ezekiel looked knowingly at her. It was going to be a very long month.  
  
“They won’t dare,” stated Dalton. He wasn’t going to allow that to become a circus for the three other men, no matter how well intentioned they were. The team needed to stay focused, not entertained with the attraction of two of its members.  
  
Jaz thought Top was too optimistic, but was surprised when they reached their friends and co-workers and everything remained as usual.  
  
“So, did you guys bring the drinks?” asked Top breaking the ice, and a second after McG was taking a couple of beers out from the cooler and handing them out, engaging the team in conversation about where they were going to go for lunch.  
  
The sniper was thankful that the guys behaved and didn't make a mountain out of a molehill. It was clear they respected Top a lot, to the point of not trespassing the line of what was considered personal territory. Or maybe they were being smart enough to not risk it, in case it could backlash against them and create tension in the team. She had the feeling McG would approach her in private, to find out what had transpired between she and Dalton while sitting on the sand. Amir didn’t need explanations, he already knew what was there and was comfortable reading between the lines. As for Preach, there was a question in his eyes when she looked at him. _Did you do it? Did you talk to him?_  
  
Jaz avoided answering at first, but when their eyes met again, she nodded once almost imperceptibly, which made the CPO smile fondly at her.  
  
Now it was only a matter of time, of waiting one month with the certainty that, when they were all on leave, Adam and she would find the moment to sit down again to talk and decide what to do. Until then, there was nothing to be but professional and a good teammate, for she knew keenly well how privileged she was to be a part of that incredible and unique team.

**Author's Note:**

> Note (30.11.2018): I was crushed when The Brave wasn’t renewed, but that didn’t stop me from finishing this piece, if only to honor the greatness of the series.
> 
> I left it open ended on purpose. I'm not sure if Jaz and Dalton would have that conversation on leave after what happens in the season finale, with Ezekiel’s life hanging on the line. I have some ideas for a follow-up fic, but I'm not sure if I'll get to write it.
> 
> Music helps me to write, so here you have the songs that inspired me in part to develop this story: _Say Something_ by Justin Timberlake Feat. Chris Stapleton, _Never Be the Same_ by Camila Cabello, _Gimme Some Lovin’_ by The Spencer Davis Group, and _If I Told You That_ by Whitney Houston & George Michael.
> 
> If you liked it, please let me know. Feedback fuels a writer to keep going! Thanks!


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